Obamacare exchange 2.0: Anthem far from the cheapest plan
There are more choices and better deals in the 2015 Obamacare exchange, but if you want the same coverage as last year, it’s going to cost you more.
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Why small Hoosier employers aren’t dropping their health plans—yet
Obamacare's community rating rules would give 25-percent-off coupons to boomers while sticking millennials with a 75-percent surcharge, according to recent data from employer health plans.
The tragedy of electronic medical records
The federal government has spent $27 billion—and hospital systems have spent even more—to roll out electronic medical records across the industry. But even advocates say the results have been “disappointing.”
If past is prologue, HMOs will make a comeback in Indiana
WellPoint created an HMO joint venture with seven big hospitals in Los Angeles. Could it do something similar here? Quite possibly.
The pain (and pleasure) that comes from paying more of our health care bills
Paying off medical debts over time is now a common experience for families with health insurance and becoming more so. And that is inducing big changes in the health care marketplace.
Why small firms have been irate about health insurance
For Indiana employers with fewer than 10 workers, health insurance premiums have risen 11.5 percent, on average, from 2001 to 2013. That ranked second-highest among all states.
What if hospitals ‘upcharged’ you for being fat?
As local hospitals try to offer package deals with upfront prices on joint replacement surgeries, they're struggling with the reality that patients' other health conditions can significantly increase their cost of care.
Obamacare exchanges boosted coverage, premiums and spending in Indiana
A new study finds that Obamacare boosted enrollment in Indiana’s individual insurance market significantly over what it would have been without the law, but also caused premiums to spike.
Patients, providers respond after Anthem promotes lower-cost MRI facilities
Anthem patients in five U.S. cities, including Indianapolis, spent $220 less per MRI scan after Anthem told them of lower-cost facilities. In response, hospital-owned MRI facilities cut their prices.
Small employers dumping plans faster than expected, WellPoint says
WellPoint saw 218,000 members of its health plans disappear because their employers ended their group plans. Other insurers, however, say small employers are ending their plans more slowly than expected.
Should IU Health pursue a strategy of mediocrity?
Indiana University Health fell off U.S. News’ honor roll of the nation’s top 1 percent of hospitals. Because of Obamacare and other trends, perhaps IU Health should be happy about that.
If courts gut Obamacare, Pence will face tough choice
If this week’s D.C. appeals court ruling stands up—declaring the Obamacare tax subsidies illegal in Indiana and most other states—Gov. Mike Pence could face significant pressure, even from traditional Republican supporters, to keep the tax credits flowing.
Will hospitals’ higher facility fees survive health reform?
One of the open secrets in health care is that hospitals are paid substantially more than independently owned health care facilities for the same procedures. But those higher fees are facing unprecedented pressure.
Employees may rebel against Obamacare
The economics of the Obamacare’s exchanges are proving attractive to both employers and workers, but a new poll shows that workers still don’t want to end up in them.
There will be blood
A new study found that common blood tests performed by hospital-owned facilities in the Indianapolis area were six to nine times more expensive than the same tests at independent lab facilities. Ouch!
How to judge Obamacare
Health care and health insurance were a mess long before Obamacare—and on a path to getting messier. That makes it awfully difficult to figure out how much blame and credit to give the law as it plays out in the marketplace. Here's my approach.
The worries of a hospital CEO
In a video presentation to his employees, Community Health CEO Bryan Mills discusses the threats hospitals face from retail clinics and employers—and how Community briefly discussed laying off 1,000 workers last year.
Why Obamacare is likely to fail in Indiana (and most other states, too)
New data show eight out of 10 Hoosiers with private health insurance are covered by employer plans that are exempt from most Obamacare rules. So, rather than being an invasive train wreck, Obamacare may fail because it doesn’t affect enough people.
Why are we so fat? Our food, health care are so cheap
Two new studies show that Americans have every economic incentive to consume too much food and then, when that overeating creates health problems for them, to consume lots of health care to fix it.
Rotten Teeth Report Card
Indiana ranks 10th in the nation for the highest spending on health care and 10th in the nation for the number of adults missing six or more teeth. That’s not a coincidence. Hoosiers do a poor job of taking care of themselves, and we end up paying for it in higher taxes and health insurance premiums.